​Germans want more independence from US

The majority of German citizens, for the first time in history, insist on less dependence on the United States in terms of their national security and diplomacy, according to a major survey released by the German Marshall Fund think-tank.

The study published on
Wednesday shows that most Germans want their country to take a
more independent position from the United States, especially on
issues as vital as national security and sovereign
diplomacy.

A majority of 57 percent of German respondents opted for a more
independent approach, according to the Transatlantic Trends
survey, which is up from only 40 percent back in 2013. What is
even more interesting is that just 19 percent of Germans say they
want to have a closer relationship with the United States –
compared to 34 percent of Americans who wanted their country to
get cosier with Germany.

In Europe as a whole, 50 percent of respondents opted for a more
independent security relationship with the United States, which
is up eight percent from last year.

“The turbulence in transatlantic relations over the past year
is mirrored in this year’s Transatlantic Trends data,” says
GMF President Karen Donfried, adding that the crises in the
Middle East and Ukraine “underscore the importance of
strengthened transatlantic cooperation.”

The US and Germany have been at odds in a spying row ever since
Edward Snowden's National Security Agency revelations in June
2013. In October, it was revealed the NSA had been spying on
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's calls since 2002. A German
parliamentary committee has since been holding hearings on the
NSA’s spying activities in Germany.

Another spying scandal that took place in July this year
escalated the growing political tension between the two states.
It happened when two US agents were unmasked, suspected of acting
as double agents within the German state security apparatus, and
passing secrets to US intelligence contacts. One of them, a
31-year-old, reportedly contacted the US embassy and offered
‘cooperation,’ after which he leaked hundreds of secret documents
in exchange for cash payments. In response to the espionage
scandal, Germany promptly expelled the Berlin CIA chief.

German government officials readily acknowledge that
anti-Americanism – fueled by these revelations of NSA’a spying
activities in Europe – plays a significant role in how the public
perceives the Ukraine crisis and has bred reluctance among many
Germans to side with the US.

The favorability of the United States in Germany has dropped from
68 percent in 2013 to 58 percent this year. However, at the same
time 70 percent of respondents are viewing Russia unfavorably.

Meanwhile, a little more than half of EU respondents – with 1,000
adults questioned in each country from June 2 to June 26 this
year – said it was desirable that the United States exert strong
leadership in world affairs, almost unchanged from 2013. In
Germany, however, a positive opinion of US President Barack
Obama’s international policies dropped by 20 percentage points to
56 percent, with 38 percent of respondents disagreeing with them.
The results back those of a survey in July which showed support
for Obama had fallen in Germany.